Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is recovering in the hospital following complications that arose from an unspecified medical procedure, the Pentagon said Friday.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed hospital on Jan. 1, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in an emailed statement Friday evening. He is recovering and was expected to return to his full duties on Friday, meaning he would have been in the hospital when the U.S. conducted a targeted retaliatory airstrike on a militia commander in Baghdad in response to a spate of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria on Thursday.
“On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure. He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today,” Ryder said.
“At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required,” the statement read. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is the Pentagon’s second-in-command.
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